Pallet-feeding mechanism



i To4 all fio/0m t may concern:

l 'on the line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES envia a. Santena la IOWA@ PAULETJFEEDING MECHAISM.

appa-cation meid 'aune 1, i925. serial No. 34,054.

Be it known ,thatL HALVER R. STRAIGHT, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, anda resident of Adel, in the countyfo' 'Dallas' and State of Iowa, .have inventeda certain new and useful Pallet-Feeding Mechanism, of which the `following is a specification.

The object of myinvention `is to 'provide a mechanism oit simple', durable and inexpensive construction, which 'may be used in connection with a tile Cutter and oit-bearing mechanism, fortlie purpose ofautomatically feeding pallets in 'operative relation with the off-bearing mechanism, so as to 'receive the ware from said -mechanism in such a manner that the ware Amaybe automatically delivered to said pallets and-placed thereon inV proper 'relation to said pallet 'and to each other.

A ur'therobjgect is to provide in connection with a tilecutter and off-bearing mech` anisln improved means for Afeeding pallets into position for receivingtile from said off-bearing mechanism, said de viceincluding means for timing the oit-bearing mechanism andthe pallet feeding mechanism from' the said tile cutter.

- My invention consists in 'the construction,

arrahgement Sand combination of the various .parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as khereinafter more fully set forth-,pointed out in myfclaims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhichz' Figure 1 is a `side'e'lvation of my impro-ved de vicewith the front side of the supporting frame removed.l

F'gure 2 isa` detail sectional View taken von' the Vlin'e A2,-2 .of igure 1.

Figure 3 is axdetail sectional yview taken Figure t is a detail sectional view'taken onthe line 4-1 vQtliig'ure 1.v

Figure 5 is a detail, .side elevation of a portion of the pallet teedingmechanism; and

Figure 6 is onrthe line 6;.601? "Figure 5. The numeral 10 indicatesk a supporting frame of one form of a tile 'cutter which isinconimon use, and which 'employes 'a rotary cutting1 inember V11.-proQVitl-ed. with .cutting wires 12. Said member 11 is'driven thro gh pinions 13A and bevel gears 121, and ,151v lll a 'detail sectional View taken e, pinions 13 are mounted a shaft 1 6 driven vthrough a belt 17. Thecutting member 11 may 'beprovided with oneor morewires 12 'depending' on the length of the blocks 'to be cut. i i -It will beseen that the number of revolutions of the shattlbears a fiX'edratio with thefnumberot blocks or tile cuttoI neach 'revolution of thegears 14 and 15, and Jfor that reason the shaft 16 may be employed 'as a drivingA 'medium for my improved mechanism, which willjnot only impart the necessary power for operatingthe device, but also may bek utilized to time thev said mechanism with the blocks or tile which are severed from the continuously moving colu'mn vof clay18. These tile are ydesignated 'by lthe numeral' 19. Said -tile are delivered to the upper run ot a continuously moving 'conveyor 20, said run being supported ,by rollers 21 mounted in ,a suitable frame. 22. ,The conveyor is mounted on suitable rollers 23and 24, the roller 211V being vprovided with a shaft-25, one end of which isgprovided with a sprocket wheel 26.`

Mounted ad] acent to the delivery end of. the

vconveyor, 2O'y is' an. off-bearing .mechanism which is indicated generally by the numeral 27, having the main operating sha-P028. The outer end ot the shaft 28 is provided with a sprocket Wheel 29. i The sprocket wheels 26 and 29.,are designed: to carry a chain 30 driven from a sprocket 31. 'secured-to'. the shaft 32. The inner end of theshaft 32 is provided with a beveled'gear 33 in ,mesh with al beveledjpinion 34, said pinion being mounted on a shat :and having. atrits opposite end a'sprocket-l 36. Said sprocket 36 is designed -t' carry va'chain 37 carried by a sprocket 38 ony the" outer end of ythe shaft 16. f

By this arrangement it will be seen that I have provided vmeans whereby the conveyor 20 and the off-bearing mechanism 27 may be c `simultaneously operated, and vwhich are near its bottom side in a vertical position to a continuously operating conveyor, as disclosed in my previous application. My present invention pertains to a mechanism which is substituted for the continuously operating conveyor and adapted to feed a series of pallets, which are designated by the numeral 40, to substantially the saine position as occupied by the delivery conveyor of said off-bearing mechanism, which consists of a frame 41 comprising a series of upright supports 42.l The frame 4l includes side members between which is mounted a series of transversely arranged shafts 43 provided with rollers 44 which are for the purpose of supporting` the pallets 40. Each of the pallets comprises a pair of angle irons 45 spaced apart and connected by means of cross members 46, said cross members having their lower edges provided with a flat portion 47 and at each end a beveled portion 48. The upper edge of the members 46 is curved slightly to permit longitudinally extending slats 49 to be mounted thereon in such a manner that the upper edges of the slats 49 will be level with the upper edges of the angles 45. Said slats 49 and the upper surface of said angles provide footing for the blocks lf), which are designed to be supported in an upright position thereon, as clearly illustrated in Figure l.

It will be seen by referring to Figure 4 that the lower edges of the angles 45 are designed to travel on the upper surface of the rollers 44, said rollers being provided with flanges 50 to form guides to prevent lateral movement of the pallets as they are advanced. The frame 4l and the rollers 44 are so located that one of the pallets will be made to rest immediately beneath the offbearing mechanism, as clearly illustrated in Figure l.

F or intermittently advancing the said pallets relative to the off-bearing mechanism, I have provided a rock shaft 5l beneath the frame 4l. Said rock shaft 51V is provided with an upwardly extending rock arm 52 to which is connected a horizontally arranged link 53 which is connected to a slide ba 54 and designed to move longitudinally beneath the frame 4l. Said slide bar has guide membe 55 mounted between rollers 5G. Each end of said bar 54 is provided with a spring actuated dog 57 which dogs are designed to engage the side members of the angles 45 in such a manner that as the bar 54 is moved rearwardly, the pallet 40 will also be moved rearwardly an equal distance. The dogs 57 are so arranged that as the bar 54 is moved forwardly, they will slide over the surface of said angle irons 45. Said bar 54 is actuated when the shaft 5l is rocked, which is accomplished by means of a crank 58 mounted on the outer end of the shaft 5l, which is connected to a rod 59 operated from the wrist pin 60, see Figure 5. Said wrist pin 60 is adjustably mounted in a slot 6l of a disk 62 which is carried and supported by the sprocket wheel 31.

The said disk 62 is provided with a graduated scale 63 while the pin G0 is provided with a pointer 64. By this arrangement i will be seen l have provided means whereby the length of the strolre of the bar 54 may be varied by simply adjusting the wrist pin toward or from the Center of the dish '(32, as it will readily be seen that it is necessary to adjust the stroke of the bar 54, due to the fact that the blocks 19 are of various sizes.

AA large block requires a long strcle, whiie a smaller block requires a shorter stroke. The spaces between the blocks are about the same, regardless of the size of said blocks.

rhus it will be seen that each time a block is delivered from the off-bearing mechanism to the pallet 40, the said pallet is advanced a distance equal to the width of said block plus the space between the blocks. The shaft 32 being driven from the shaft 1G will automatically time the feeding of the pallets with the off-bearing mechanism. For supplying additional pallets I have provided a transversely arranged conveyor 65 which consists simply of an inclined chute having side members 66. The lower end of the chute is designed to receive the pallets in parallel relation with the pallets being fed bene-ath the off-bearing mechanism. The inclination of the chute is such that the said pallets will be fed by gravity. The lower end of said chute is of such elevation that one pallet will be permitted to rest on the rollers 44, while a second pallet may be slid to position on top of` the first pallet. The inclined portion of the lower edges of the members 46 permit the top pallet/- to slide into position laterally on top of the one beneath. The rear end of the upper one of said palle-ts is moved on top of the forward end of the first one of said pallets in a manner somewhat as illustrated in Fig ure l. Uien the said lower pallet has been fed forwardly to such an extent that its rear end is slightly over half way from under the pallet above, the rear end of the second pallet will rest on and engage a pair of friction rollers 67, said rollersA being driven preferably at a speed greater than the maximum speed of the intermittently moving pallet, as this will cause the said second pallet to have a tendency to be advanced forwardly, but which is prevented by means of a stop bar 68, which is arranged at the forward end of said pallet. Said second pallet may be retained in this position until the lower one of said pallets has been fed from beneath the said forward end of the second pallet, which will then permit' the second llO end of the first pallet "will be advanced ahead of fthe forwardfend Iofthe second or upper pallet, before l'saidlupper 'pallet has time. to fall into position -on the rollers al. 'Y .This will leave :a space fbetween the ends of said pallets, which will be vclosed on account of the feeding tendency of the roller 67..`

f Said roller G7 .may kbe continuously operated if so desired :through la chain 69 -mounted on a sprocket 70, said sprocket 70 being carried by a shaft 7l -on which thesaid rol-ler 67 is mounted. The .chain 69 is driven by imea'ns of a sprocket 72 .and bevel fgea'rs .73 .and a shaft 7l. 'Said shaft 74 Vmay be :either continuously .or intermittently operated. If it is intermittently operated in unison with the :movements of theI bar 54, the speed of the roller lGfshould .be slightly greater than the maximum speed of the bar 54, -while if the said'rolle-r '67 is continuously operated, the speed should besuch .that the second pallet will be caused to engage the end of the first pallet 'before the actuating vdogs 57 engage said second pallet. This is necessary in order to give the proper spacing between the ends of the pallets and the first block mounted thereon, so as to prevent a single block from being mounted on two adjacent pallets at the same time.

For supporting the pallet which is being loaded against rearward movement as the actuating bar 54 is moved rearwardly through the frictional conta-cts of the dogs 57, I have provided a pair of stationary dogs 75.

By this arrangement it will be seen I have provided a mechanism which is adapted to be used in connection with a tile cutter, and Vits off-bearing mechanism, in such a manner that pallets may be fed beneath the off-bearing mechanism in an intermittent manner, the stroke of which may be varied to accommodate tile of various widths, and which is provided with an accumulating conveyor for supplying new pallets as they are being iilled. The said accumulating conveyor is arranged to automatically replace the said iilled pallets. The device is also provided with means whereby the adjacent ends of the pallets may be placed in contact before they are moved to position for receiving the ware from the offbearing mechanism.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination, a tile cutter, an offbearing mechanism, a pallet accumulating device, means for receiving a pallet from said accumulating device and feeding it intermittently beneath the discharge end of said off-bearing mechanism.

2. In combination, a tile cutter, an off- -termittent :feed-ing mechanism.

In combination, a tile cutter, 'an eilibea'rin-'g mechanism, a pallet accumulating. device, means for rreceiving. a pallet from said accumulatingdevice andfeeding 'it intermittently beneath'the discharge end `'of Vsaid oil-bearing mechanism, means yfor varying the length of the `stroke of said intermittent feeding mechanism, rand means `for timing said oli-bearing mechanisrn'a'nd said pallet feeding mechanism with said tile cutter.

4. In a -device of the class described, a

supporti-ng frame, a series of "transversely .arranged supporting yrollers adapted to receive a pallet, said pallet having itsedges fermedl parallel, gripping meansxmovable lemgitudinally with said pallet for'engaging its side edges and imparting movement in- `ter-mittently thereto, and/means for actuating said gripping mechanism. Y

5. In a device of the class described, a supporting frame, a series of transversely arranged supporting rollers adapted to receive a pallet, said pallet having its edges formed parallel, gripping means movable longitudinally with said pallet for engaging its side edges and imparting movement intermittently thereto, means for actuating said'gripping mechanism, and means for varying the stroke of said gripping mechanisin.

6.l In a device of the class described, a supporting frame, a series of transverselyvr arranged supporting rollers, adapted to receive a pallet, said pallet having its edges formed parallel, gripping means movable longitudinally with said pallet for engaging its side edges and imparting movement intermittently thereto, means for actuating .said gripping mechanism, means for varying` theV stroke of said gripping mechanisnnan inclined and transversely arranged accumulating conveyor having its delivery end adjacent to one side of said pallet and above said pallet so that a pallet arranged in said inclined conveyor may be delivered by gravity on top of the first said pallet, means for preventing forward movement of the second pallet as it rests on said iirst pallet until after the first pallet has been moved from .beneath it, and means for feeding said second pallet into engagement with the rear end of said irst pallet and into engagement with said gripping mechanism.V

7. In a device of the class described, a supporting frame adapted to support a pallet, means for intermittently feeding said pallet, means for automatically feeding one lil() end of said second pallet adjacent to the rear end of said first pallet as they pass through said intermittent feeding mechanism.

8. In a device of the class described, a supporting frame, a pallet conveyor, means for imparting intermittent movement to said pallet comprising a reciprocating bar, a pair of dogs on said bar for gripping the edges of said pallet when said bar is moved in one direction, and for disengaging said bar when moved in the opposite direction, a second pair of gripping dogs mounted stationary to prevent movement of said pallet when the said reciprocating` bar is moved in one direction.

9. In a device of the class described, a supporting trame, a pallet conveyor', means for imparting intermittent movement to said pallet comprising a reciprocating bar, a pair of dogs on said bar for gripping the edges of said pallet when said bar is moved in onedirection, annd for disengaging said bar when moved in the opposite direction, second pair of gripping dogs mounted stationary to prevent movement of said pallet when the said reciprocating bar is moved in one direction, means for imparting reciprocating movement to said bar comprising aV rock shaft, a rock arm, a link for connecting said rock arm with said bar, a second rock arm, a rotating crank, and a connecting rod for said crank and said second arm.

10. In a device of the class described, a supporting frame, a pallet conveyor, means for imparting intermittent movement to said pallet comprising a reciprocating bar, a pair of dogs on said bar for gripping the edges of said pallet when said bar is moved in one direction, and for disengaging said bar when moved in the opposite direction, a second pair of gripping dogs mounted stationary to prevent movement of said pallet when the said reciprocating bar is moved in one direction, means for imparting reciproeating movement to said bar comprising a rock sliai't, a rock arm, a link for connecting said rock arm With said bar, a second rock arm, a rotating crank, a connecting rod for said crank and said second arm, and means Jor adjusting the stroke of said crank arm.

Des Moines, Iowa, May 8, 1925.

HALVER R. STRAIGHT. 

